Bernardo Strozzi

Strozzi, Bernardo (bĕrnärˈdō strôtˈtsē) [key], 1581–1644, Italian painter, b. Genoa. He is considered one of the greatest of the generation of early 17th-century Italian painters who made the transition from the mannerist to the baroque style. In 1598, Strozzi became a Capuchin monk, thus earning the names "Il Cappucino" and later "Il Prete Genovese." Strozzi was influenced by the work of Rubens, who in 1607 was in Genoa. Strozzi's own influence on the painting of Genoa was very great. His early works were marked by strong chiaroscuro (high-contrast) effects, as in his St. Augustine Washing Christ's Feet (Genoa). But his palette had begun to lighten when he went to Venice in 1630. He became one of the artists who rekindled the spirit of great painting in Venice. Examples of Strozzi's work are in the major European museums and in Baltimore, Cleveland, and the Metropolitan Museum.